Individual contributors are the people in your organization (you?) on the front lines. They’re the ones doing the heavy lifting, the direct customer interaction, and running the day to day operations. Most importantly, a great individual contributor has a sense of purpose, seeks mastery of her craft, and delivers results autonomously. Managers are the people […]
Where do great managers come from?
Finding an answer to the question, “Where have all the great managers gone?” starts with another question. Where do great managers come from to begin with? How, exactly, does one become a leader who is capable of developing people into high performing professionals? Presumably, before you can coach a person on the path to becoming […]
Where have all the great managers gone?
For so long, we’ve thought of managers being the people who simply keep track of the tasks to be done. They sit over your shoulder, making sure you’re getting the tasks done fast enough and with just enough quality. There’s a difference between a leader and a manager, though they’re certainly not exclusive. A leader […]
The Difference Between You and Elon Musk
Elon Musk is the real-life Tony Stark. He runs or is actively involved in three businesses: Tesla – Transforming the automobile industry by creating well-designed, attractive electric vehicles and the technology to power them (all while open-sourcing their patents) SpaceX – Transforming the space travel, including the possibility of colonizing Mars Solar City – Transforming […]
Jobs to Be Done
Every person who works has a job to be done, day in and day out (or, they should have a job to do, but we won’t get into organizational inefficiencies today). Similarly, every team has a job to be done. The difference between teams and individuals is mostly a matter of resources. A team clearly […]
I’m For It
The desire to change often comes from the desire for something to stop. We experience something that makes us realize we’re against that thing. We want to quit the job we hate because we’re against the mission and culture and management style. We want to stop eating poorly because we’re against feeling crappy and being […]
A Formula for Meaningful Work
A problem worth solving + The skills to solve it + Habits for execution + A community of support = Meaningful work Click to tweet this post.
Or, Just Make Art
Your career matters. It is perhaps the most powerful way you can make an impact in the world, aside from your family. One of the best ways to use your career for good is to find a problem worth solving and then go hard in the paint (that’s a basketball reference). But, of course, not […]
Rate-Based Goals
A great manager knows how to set a two-factor north star her team can believe in. Then she set a target, or a specific number to shoot for this year, or this quarter, or this month. An average manager would stop at that: set a target and hope the team meets the goal. When things […]
North Star
Every business, every team, every leader, and every individual contributor needs a north star. A north star guides the way. It’s a way to evaluate all of your efforts and understand whether you’re really fulfilling your mission. My north star here is daily publishing because it means I put work into the world everyday that […]